Not taking annual leave: what could it cost Australia?

Australians work longer hours than all other OECD nations and generally do not use all their leave entitlement. According to National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC) figures, workplace accidents and disease may cost the Australian economy $37 billion. However, this figure may be an underestimate. This is because the costs of workplace stress are not included in these figures. It has been established that organisations that do not overwork their employees and offer hours of work that are more sociable tend to be more productive. It has also been established that taking holidays over a period of 20 days or more is helpful in reducing workplace and other stress. This paper considers these issues and suggests an agenda for future research to increase our understanding of the importance of taking annual leave for a holiday to workers and the Australian economy. The findings of this research suggest both policy makers and employee relations practitioners need to consider the importance of work-family balance, health economics and employee wellbeing

Implementation of multimodal computed tomography in a telestroke network : five-year experience

Aims: Penumbral selection is best-evidence practice for thrombectomy in the 6-24 hour window. Moreover, it helps to identify the best responders to thrombolysis. Multimodal computed tomography (mCT) at the primary centre—including noncontrast CT, CT perfusion, and CT angiography—may enhance reperfusion therapy decision-making. We developed a network with five spoke primary stroke sites and assessed safety, feasibility, and influence of mCT in rural hospitals on decision-making for thrombolysis. Methods: Consecutive patients assessed via telemedicine from April 2013 to June 2018. Clinical outcomes were measured, and decision-making compared using theoretical models for reperfusion therapy applied without mCT guidance. Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) was assessed according to Safe Implementation of Treatments in Stroke Thrombolysis Registry criteria. Results: A total of 334 patients were assessed, 240 received mCT, 58 were thrombolysed (24.2%). The mean age of thrombolysed patients was 70 years, median baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale was 10 (IQR 7-18) and 23 (39.7%) had a large vessel occlusion. 1.7% had sICH and 3.5% parenchymal hematoma. Three months poststroke, 55% were independent, compared with 70% in the non-thrombolysed group. Conclusion: Implementation of CTP in rural centers was feasible and led to high thrombolysis rates with low rates of sICH. © 2019 The Authors. CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

A preliminary investigation to explore the cognitive resources of physicians experiencing difficulty in training

Background Treating patients is complex, and research shows that there are differences in cognitive resources between physicians who experience difficulties, and those who do not. It is possible that differences in some cognitive resources could explain the difficulties faced by some physicians. In this study, we explore differences in cognitive resources between different groups of physicians (that is, between native (UK) physicians and International Medical Graduates (IMG); those who continue with training versus those who were subsequently removed from the training programme); and also between physicians experiencing difficulties compared with the general population. Methods A secondary evaluation was conducted on an anonymised dataset provided by the East Midlands Professional Support Unit (PSU). One hundred and twenty one postgraduate trainee physicians took part in an Educational Psychology assessment through PSU. Referrals to the PSU were mainly on the basis of problems with exam progression and difficulties in communication skills, organisation and confidence. Cognitive resources were assessed using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV). Physicians were categorised into three PSU outcomes: ‘Continued in training’, ‘Removed from training’ and ‘Active’ (currently accessing the PSU). Results Using a one-sample Z test, we compared the referred physician sample to a UK general population sample on the WAIS-IV and found the referred sample significantly higher in Verbal Comprehension (VCI; z = 8.78) and significantly lower in Working Memory (WMI; z = −4.59). In addition, the native sample were significantly higher in Verbal Comprehension than the UK general population sample (VCI; native physicians: z = 9.95, p < .001, d = 1.25), whilst there was a lesser effect for the difference between the IMG sample and the UK general population (z = 2.13, p = .03, d = 0.29). Findings also showed a significant difference in VCI scores between those physicians who were ‘Removed from training’ and those who ‘Continued in training’. Conclusions Our results suggest it is important to understand the cognitive resources of physicians to provide a more focussed explanation of those who experience difficulties in training. This will help to implement more targeted interventions to help physicians develop compensatory strategies

Characterisation of SEQ0694 (PrsA/PrtM) of Streptococcus equi as a functional peptidyl-prolyl isomerase affecting multiple secreted protein substrates

YesPeptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) lipoproteins have been shown to influence the virulence of a number of Gram-positive bacterial human and animal pathogens, most likely through facilitating the folding of cell envelope and secreted virulence factors. Here, we used a proteomic approach to demonstrate that the Streptococcus equi PPIase SEQ0694 alters the production of multiple secreted proteins, including at least two putative virulence factors (FNE and IdeE2). We demonstrate also that, despite some unusual sequence features, recombinant SEQ0694 and its central parvulin domain are functional PPIases. These data add to our knowledge of the mechanisms by which lipoprotein PPIases contribute to the virulence of streptococcal pathogens

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

John Clare and place

This chapter tackles issues of place in the self-presentation and critical reception of John Clare, and pursues it across a number of axes. The argument centres on the placing of Clare both socio-economically and ‘naturally’, and limitations exerted upon perceptions of his work. Interrogating criticism this chapter finds a pervasive awkwardness especially in relation to issues of class and labour. It assesses the contemporary ‘placing’ of Clare, and seemingly unavoidable insensitivities to labour and poverty in the history industry, place-naming, and polemical ecocriticism. It assesses the ways Clare represents place – in poverty, in buildings, in nature – and, drawing on Michel de Certeau, considers the tactics Clare uses to negotiate his place. It pursues trajectories to ‘un-place’ Clare: the flight of fame in Clare’s response to Byron; and the flight of an early poem in songbooks and beyond, across the nineteenth century

An exploratory determination of the effect of a male pheromone on the product choice of females

"The underlying intention of this research was to investigate how consumers and customers behave and whether it impacts on the current domain of marketing inquiry. This was done by examining the historical development of the marketing discipline, and highlighting an opportunity to incorporate the research findings from other disciplines into marketing's inquiry towards understanding consumer behaviour. The vehicle for this approach was the concept of the servicescape where sensory systems are attributed towards consumer behaviours. The literature review provided the basis for the development of a model of operant sensory systems in humans. This model identifies 13 sensory systems, 8 more than the current approach used by servicescape analysis of the traditional 5 senses."--p. 1

Psychology, tourism, health and wealth

Australians work longer hours than most other OECD employees (Callus, 2002; Pocock, 2001), and are not effectively using their recreation leave. According to National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC) figures, workplace accidents and diseases will cost the Australian economy over $50 billion in 2003. However, even this figure may understate matters (Mandryk, 2001). Organisations that don’t overwork their employees, offer more sociable hours and better than average leave periods tend to be more productive (Buchannan & Van Wanneroy, 2001). Illness brought about by workplace stress has resulted in legislation in countries such as Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands (Dollard, 2001) which has shown an improvement in cardiovascular risk, level of sleep disturbances and gastrointestinal complaints of employees. This paper provides a framework for future enquiry to increase our understanding of tourism and its relationship to psychology. This interface will have an increasing impact within health economics and the emerging field of Employment Relations

Should the taking of annual leave be made compulsory in Australia?

Australians work longer hours than most other OECD nations and are not effectively using their full annual leave entitlements. According to National Occupational Health and Safety Commission figures workplace accidents and diseases may cost the Australian economy $37 billion per annum. However, even this figure may be out of date and understated because it does not include the costs of workplace stress. This is a workplace health issue that studies show can be ameliorated by holidays. Workplace stress, may be a major cost to the economy. This paper considers the connections between these issues and outlines an agenda for future research so as to increase our understanding of the importance of the taking of annual leave to the people and economy of Australia